Thursday, October 13, 2016

Celebrating 1000 years of common heritage between Poland and Ireland

A special conference on the connections between the Celtic Christian
missions in Europe and the beginnings of Christianity in Poland will
take place this Saturday, 15 October, at the Glendalough Hotel,
Glendalough, Co Wicklow.

The conference, titled “Celebrating 1000 years of common heritage
between Poland and Ireland: Irish and Scottish Monastic foundations and
the origins of European and Polish Christianity”, forms part of the
ongoing celebrations of the 1050th anniversary of the Baptism of Poland.

The event also takes place as part of celebrations for the 170th
anniversary of Saint Audoen’s Church, Dublin, and the 10th anniversary
of transfer of that church to the Polish Community in Ireland.

Father Stanisław Hajkowski SChr, National Chaplain of the Polish
Community in Ireland, will open the event, linking the significant
anniversaries being celebrated.

Speakers on the day will come from a variety of differing
backgrounds, including Marcus Losack, Director of the Ceile De Centre;
Mgr Ciaran O’Carroll, Rector of the Irish College in Rome; and Br.
Colmán Ó Clabaigh OSB, Glenstal Abbey, Co Limerick.

The following day, Sunday 16 October, continuing the celebrations of
the Saint Audoen’s Church anniversaries, the Papal Nuncio to Ireland,
Archbishop Charles Brown will offer a Mass in thanksgiving at Saint
Audoen’s for the Pontificate of Saint John Paul II.

A Choir, Cantate Deo,
drawn from the Polish Chaplaincy in Limerick, will sing under the baton
of Anna Banko at Mass.

Following the Mass, the choir will provide a
concert of sacred music.

The conference is open to the public and admission is free.

For more information on the event and speakers on the day, click here.